Retail Facts

Retail salesperson is the most common occupation in both Canada and the United States.

Cashier is the second most common occupation in the US for both genders, and fourth most common for Canadian women.

1 in 10 Canadian workers is employed directly in retail/wholesale – that’s nearly 2 million people.

Across industrialized countries, retail workers constitute about 10% of the labour force, including in the US, where 15 million work on the front lines of retail.

Walmart is the largest private sector employer in the world, and the second largest employer, period.

Wage earners of all ages work in retail. There is a relatively high proportion of young workers, yet 4 in 10 retail workers in Canada is over the age of 45. The median age of retail workers in the US is 38. In Canada the median age is 34.

A majority of retail workers are women, particularly in sales associate and cashier positions.

In Canada and the United States, most retail workers are paid low wages (often minimum wage) and many are only given part-time hours. They have few, if any, benefits.

Currently about 13% of retail workers in Canada and about 5% in the United States are unionized.